


Home for Christmas

by standoutme



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Karen, BAMF Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Bisexual Peter Parker, F/M, Gay Harley Keener, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, M/M, Mentions of past sexual assault, Mutual Pining, Past Peter Parker/Flash Thompson, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Still fluffy though, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Trans Peter Parker, this took an angsty turn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/standoutme/pseuds/standoutme
Summary: Peter is spending Christmas with the Starks for the first time, and is surprised to find a tall, handsome intruder baking cookies in the kitchen.ORIn which Tony invites both his kids over for Christmas but forgets telling them that the other is coming, no less exists. Featuring Spiderlad meet cute, all the fluff and Christmas cuteness.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 188
Kudos: 805





	1. Baby it's cold outside

**Author's Note:**

> Tony lived, obviously. Both Peter and Harley were in the snap, meaning that they're both 18 by now.

Peter was nervous. Aunt May was working at the hospital throughout the holidays, and Peter, as a result was spending Christmas with the Starks for the first time. It shouldn't be odd or anxiety inducing, seeing that he already spent most of his time either at SI or the Stark residence, but the teenager couldn't help the fact that his excitement was mixed up with anxiety. While he had been reassured countless times, there were still days when he felt like he was intruding. Because he wasn't part of their family, not _really._ They had Morgan now, and as much as the eighteen-year-old loved that kid, he could never measure up to an adorable six-year-old who was the spitting image of her father. Either way, he was excited. If he pushed all those feelings of not belonging, spending the holidays at the Stark residence felt right. In fact, any time he spent there felt right. In all ways but blood, they were his family. 

When Peter arrived at the cottage, the sound of 'Baby it's cold outside' rung through the warm house. The teenager hung up his jacket before making his way to the source of the music; the kitchen. But it wasn't Pepper standing in the decorated room, nor was it Tony. Hell, it wasn't even Morgan. It was another kid. A tall one, with broad shoulders, but a kid nonetheless. And he was- was he baking? Peter brushed the distracting cookies away from his mind, and shook his head in disbelief. The sight of a stranger in Mr. Stark's house put Peter in defence mode, and he was quick to grab a candelabrum from the shelf next to him.

"Who are you, and how did you get past the security?" he demanded, causing the tall, blonde boy to turn around in shock. _Fuck._ Peter was so screwed. The intruder was cute. Scratch that, _hot._ The smile on the blonde's face immediately fell away as a confused look took its place as he reached out and scratched his neck, flashing a ridiculously muscular arm in the process. Fuck.

"Oh, I'm Harley... Um, Friday let me in, I would've- hold on, who are you?"

Okay, if Peter wasn't screwed before, that voice and that accent definitely got him. He could feel the blood rising to his cheeks, and his breath failing him.

"I'm Peter, but- I'm asking the questions, here. Why are you in Mr. Stark's kitchen?"

The blonde let out a laugh at that, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm baking gingerbread cookies," he grinned in response, although once again, his smile dropped surprisingly fast. "Fire!" he exclaimed, pointing to Peter's side, where indeed, the candelabrum he had picked up was burning a hole into the curtain. "Fuck!" Peter exclaimed, dropping the candles to the floor, which thankfully was tile and couldn't catch fire.

Without much thought, Peter had thrown himself across the room, somehow managed to grab a vase, and toss its contents out over the curtain - putting out the fire.

"Holy shit- that was smooth," the blonde, _Harley,_ exclaimed, and at that, Peter couldn't help but to laugh.

"Smooth? _Smooth?_ I set the curtain on _fire_ trying to stop an intruder, and... you're not even an intruder, are you?" Peter panicked, watching the blonde, who calmly held his place in front of the oven, an amused grin all over his face.

"Nah, the old man invited me over for the holidays."

"The- old man?" Peter stuttered, stumbling backwards slightly as he once again eyed the tall blonde. It wasn't impossible. As much as it was an idea Peter would gladly erase from his mind, he was well aware that Tony had a playboy reputation in the past, and this boy, _Harley,_ wasn't a complete far-fetch. They did look kind of similar, in some ways. But what struck Peter like a knife to the chest, was the fact that Tony might have a _son._ A teenage one, one that shared his DNA. _And what use does he have for Peter then?_

"He's... you're- Tony's-?" Peter couldn't manage with the words and suddenly found himself breaking a sweat, immediately regretting that he had agreed to spend the holidays there. With the Starks. More Starks than anticipated.

"Lord, no. I just call him that 'cause he's old... and my real dad kinda bailed. What about you?"

"Um, my parents are dead," Peter managed, swallowing down on the lump in his throat as the other boy made his way through the kitchen, closing up on him.

"I'm sorry, that's... awful. How'd you know Tony?" Harley asked, his blue eyes full of concern, and Peter thought he might _drown._

"I guess I'm his... intern?"

"Sweet," the blonde responded with a smile, before his blue eyes widened in excitement. "Wait, does this mean you've got access to the lab? I've been trying to get in there for an _hour_ and Friday won't budge-"

"Yeah, for sure! Wait- why were you trying to get into the lab?"

"Tony keeps _all_ the cool stuff down there, and I really wanted to prank him when he gets back today."

"Hell yes! What do you have in mind?"


	2. Friday, play ‘Oh no’ on Spotify

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just the song 'Oh no' intensifying successively.

When Tony Stark finally arrived back home at the cabin after a long, exhausting day’s work, it was to a full-on attack. There was an automated snowball-gun placed on the roof of the house, _his_ house, firing at him with no mercy. The tired, middle-aged man, who at the moment had little resemblance to an actual superhero, managed to make his way past it with only a _few_ blows to the face. There was no doubt who was behind this, he figured, as he brushed the snow off his coat in the entrance. _Harley must’ve arrived._

And yet, the house was silent. Concerningly silent. “Kid?” he asked with a nervous laugh, kicking his shoes off and taking a step into the hallway, causing horrifying Christmas music to start blowing out the speakers he had installed throughout the house.

_All I want for Christmas iIiIisSss youUUUUU_

“Friday, please make it stop,” Tony pleaded, rubbing his temples in a weak attempt to rid himself of an increasing headache.

“I’m afraid you lack authorization to pause, edit or stop ‘ _an epic Stark Christmas playlist’,_ would you like me to pour a coffee?”

“Friday, who is your boss?”

“You are.”

“Then humor me, how can I lack the authorization to turn off the music in my _own home?”_

“I’m afraid that’s classified information, Boss.”

“Classified inform- _fuck._ ”

Someone had gone through the trouble of hacking his AI, only to blast an annoying Christmas playlist throughout his house, and that could only mean one thing. _Peter must’ve arrived._

There were two of them now, which… there had always been two of them and Tony was fine with it. He loved the kids, but he had to admit that he hadn’t fully considered the consequences when he invited the both of them over for Christmas, and he was instantly beginning to regret that decision.

Now, Tony wasn’t exactly known for making well thought out decisions or worrying too much about consequences but expecting a cozy family Christmas when inviting those two menaces to his house at the same time, that had been downright naïve.

Carefully, the man made his way down towards his lab, hoping there wouldn’t be any more surprises for him on the way – but you could never be too sure when it came to those two. And while he made it to the glass wall of his lab, there hadn’t been any more violent surprises, but there was one he hadn’t expected. One that beat any and every prank they could’ve pulled on him.

_It was the way Harley was looking at Pete._

The two teenagers stood on opposing sides of the worktable, clearly working on something they shouldn’t, Peter deep in concentration before laughing at something Harley said. And Harley was looking at Peter as if he were a puppy (he practically was but that was beside the point). _Fuck._ This was bad. Perhaps it had been naïve of him to not expect this, but Tony had not seen this coming. And yet, another horrifying surprise practically threw him off his feet;

_How Peter looked at Harley._

Oh god no. The spider child wasn’t even making puppy eyes at the Potato slinger, worse, he was making _heart eyes._ He was looking at Harley the same way he looked at Thor (bless his idiot heart) and Tony was _screwed._

How was he ever going to be able to explain to his six-year-old daughter that her brothers were crushing on each other? This Christmas was going to be… challenging.

As Tony took another step towards the see-through door, Peter seemed to notice him, immediately scrambling with the stuff on the table and hiding something behind his back.

“Kid. I see you’ve met Pete,” the man greeted as he entered the lab, _his lab,_ which the two menaces seemed to have hijacked for God knows long.

“Mr. Stark, hi, we were just… um…”

“Tony, old man, you’re starting to look gray,” Harley grinned, walking up to the older man to greet him with a hug.

“That would be the potato gun on the roof, and the insufferable music playing in my house. You two wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“ _Snowball_ gun,” Peter corrected.

“Your intern was just showing me the lab,” Harley grinned, turning to wink at the other boy who positively blushed.

_Please god make it stop._ Now, Tony could live with the potato guns and the Christmas music, but _this?_ This was absolutely insufferable.

“My _intern,_ huh? Is that what he told you?”

“What, no… um… Mr. Stark, heh, what are you talking about? I _am_ your intern,” the teenager ranted nervously, looking like he was about to either rip his hair out or run out of there. It was hilarious.

“Right. You are my intern, who’s staying for Christmas, while we’re not working. Cause that’s not weird at all.”

“Dude! You’re staying, too? That’s awesome!” Harley exclaimed, grabbing the other boy’s shoulder in the process.

“That’s… not the word I would use,” Tony mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes. “Alright, come on kid… kids, _fuck that’s weird-_ I need you to tell Friday to stop playing that godforsaken song, and deactivate the potato gun before Pep gets home and grounds you two indefinitely.”

“It’s a _snowball_ gun, Mr. Stark!” complained Peter, as he followed the older man up the stairs.


	3. The one about the favorite brother

”Menace one, Menace two,” greeted the six-year-old as she entered the living room where the two teenagers were playing Mario Kart. It wasn’t long though, before the child dropped her smug exterior and threw her arms around Harley’s neck, nearly kicking him off the couch in the process (and causing him to lose the game, damnit).

  
“Yeah, yeah – I missed you too, Morgs,” grinned the blonde as he managed to unwrap the child’s arms and setting her down on his lap, handing her the controller.

“Are you just not gonna acknowledge me? That’s _cold,_ even for you Morgan,” Peter sulked, causing the little girl to stick her tongue out at him.

“I did acknowledge you, _Menace two._ ”

“ _What?_ I’m number two? Why does he get to-“

“He’s older than you, _and_ he was my brother first,” Morgan grinned, interrupting her honorary brother and starting a new game of Mario Kart.

“Hear that, Pete? I was her broth- wait, what?” Harley had been grinning smugly at the beginning of his sentence, but as the coin dropped – so did his chin. “You said you were his **intern!** ”

“But I _am_ Mr. Stark’s intern, and-“ Peter began, but went quiet and bit down on his tongue as he focused shooting a koopa shell on the Daisy ahead of him and taking the first place.

“- and he’s _my_ brother,” Morgan managed, finishing Peter’s sentence before passing Peter’s Mario in the game and taking the first place right before crossing the finish line. “YES!” the six-year-old called out, proceeding to jump up and down on the couch in victory.

“Stop bothering your brothers, Morgan. Dinner’s ready,” Pepper called out as she entered the room, smiling at the three kids on the couch. Peter thought he’d never get used to it, the familiarity of it; the joy radiating off of the bouncing child next to him, the motherly warmth of Pepper’s smile, or the disguised concern in Mr. Stark’s frown.

But Harley, Harley was a whole different thing. Peter had never met him before, but he had to admit they had clicked immediately, which made it feel like they had known each other much longer than the few hours that had passed since they first met. And yet, hearing Pepper refer to them as _brothers_ was… disturbing. Because Harley Keener was _hot._ There were so many other words, better words, to describe him with – but looking at him just now, that was the only one Peter could think of.

\---

“-and then he dropped the vase on the floor and webbed-“

“Can we talk about anything _other_ than Spider-Man?” Peter begged the child, who was laughing uncontrollably at the story she’d been telling enthusiastically at the dinner table.

“Okay, wait! Spider-Man has been here? In **this** house?” Harley asked in disbelief.

“Yes, he comes here **all** the time,” Morgan smiled sweetly in response.

“Is he coming for the holidays? Can you invite him?” Harley continued excitedly.

“Hey kid, you have a little-“ Tony began, pointing to his chin, “-drool, right there.” The older man was grinning widely, as his wife kicked him under the table and Peter blushed furiously.

“Oh, come on. He’s _hot, and_ he’s a superhero _,_ it would be weird if I didn’t simp for him-“

Peter cleared his throat in panic, putting his hands over Morgan’s ears and stood up abruptly. “That’s… um, well. I’m gonna take Morgs somewhere less… yeah,” he managed, pulling the child with him from the dinner table and the dining room.

“Harley has a crush on you,” the six-year-old teased as she was being dragged through the cabin, Peter shushing her furiously and closing the door behind them as soon as they entered her room. “Morg, don’t… you have to be quiet. He doesn’t know I’m _Spider-Man._ ”

“But he looooves Spider-Man, Peter – and you love Harley.”

“I don’t- what are you talking about, I’ve known him for like five minutes and besides, it’s not like he would automatically like _me_ just because I’m Spider-Man. I’m nothing _like_ Spider-Man and besides, I-“

“You literally _are_ Spider-Man.”

“Stop being so logical, you’re too smart for a six-year-old.”

“I’m almost seven.”

“Right, and it’s past your bedtime.”

“Noo please, I want to stay up and play Mario Kart.”

“Tomorrow, kid, if you promise not to play matchmaker.”

“You’re so _boring,_ Peter. This is why Harley is my favorite brother.”

“Oh, you take that back right now,” Peter warned, launching at the girl and tickling her until she managed to blurt out an: “I take it back” between fits of laughter.

“Menace,” she muttered at him as he was leaving her room, three stories later, the eighteen-year-old sticking his tongue out at her before closing the door and returning to the dining room.

\---

A few hours later, Peter was in his bedroom, scrolling social media on his phone – habitually unable to sleep. First of all, he was a night owl (or spider, more accurately). Peter had never been one to get up early in the morning and feel rested. No, he was wide awake at night instead. And that hadn’t exactly changed since his… accident at Oscorp. His senses would get completely overloaded with stimuli, and it would drive him insane. Usually what helped was to go on patrol, swinging through the city at night and actually helping people was a good outlet, a good distraction. And when he got back home afterwards, he would be so exhausted that nothing could keep him awake.

That wasn’t the case at the Stark cabin this Christmas. No, Peter could hear Morgan’s gentle snores, the tap in the kitchen dropping furiously, the electricity buzzing in the walls, and his own heartbeat speeding. The most physically exhausting thing he’d done all day was, well, running to the bus in the morning, and that was far from enough to make him fall asleep. His hands were practically shaking as his phone buzzed and finally gave him a distraction.

_@harley_keener started following you_

Now, if Peter’s heart had been racing _before,_ it was not getting better now. But still, the text on the screen brought a weak smile to his lips. He clicked the profile before hesitatingly pressing _follow back._

**Potato Gun Supremacy**

@harley_keener

Sleep deprived gay from a state far, far away

281 Following 1723 Followers

Peter was… overwhelmed, to say the least. His thoughts were spinning, because quite frankly he wanted nothing more than to throw on his spider-man suit and swing all the way into the city, patrol for a few hours and make his way back. But now that he knew Harley was still awake and would probably notice – that option was even more unviable than it had been before. Besides, it had taken him two hours to get to the cabin by car, so going patrolling would be a much bigger project than it usually was. Not to mention it was already 2 am. The teenager was practically halfway out the window because - _fuck this shit at least I can swing around in the fucking trees_ – when his phone buzzed again, forcing him back into reality.

**Potato Gun Supremacy - > Beter**

Potato Gun Supremacy: go to sleep Beter

Beter: no you go to sleep

Beter: potato gun?

Potato Gun Supremacy: it’s a long story

Potato Gun Supremacy: also I’m jet lagged…

Potato Gun Supremacy: what’s your excuse?

Beter: um

Potato Gun Supremacy: sorry

Potato Gun Supremacy: you don’t have to answer

Potato Gun Supremacy: also I’m sorry if that was weird before..

Potato Gun Supremacy: about spider-man…

Beter: not weird

Potato Gun Supremacy: believe it or not I’m not used to superheroes

Potato Gun Supremacy: and I never told you I was gay and it got really weird so I’m sorry

Beter: harley…

Beter: stop apologizing

Beter: i just… kinda know spider-man so thats why i left

Beter: and ive known you like one day you didnt have to come out to me

Beter: also hi im bi

Potato Gun Supremacy: …

Potato Gun Supremacy: SKJNAFNKFL

Potato Gun Supremacy: oh my GOD

Beter: ??

Potato Gun Supremacy: BETER

Potato Gun Supremacy: ARE YOU DATING SPIDER-MAN?

Potato Gun Supremacy: this makes so much sense now I’m so sorry

Beter: NO

Beter: nooooo

Beter: we are JUST friends

Potato Gun Supremacy: suuure. ‘just friends’

Potato Gun Supremacy: whatever you say darlin

Beter: im not having this conversation with you

Beter: its 2 am

Beter: good night menace 1

Potato Gun Supremacy: night number 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so please let me know what you thought in the comments, because I have no idea what I'm doing with the chat format at the end - that was really out of my comfort zone. Writing Morgan was so much fun though, that kid has my whole heart! Thanks for reading, giving kudos and commenting. Honestly reading your comments makes my days and motivates me so much!


	4. Definitely not crushing on anyone

Harley was a goner.

It had all started when he had his weekly phone call with Tony last month, and the old man suggested he come over to New York for the holidays. Harley knew it was a well thought out strategy on Tony’s side, in trying to convince him to apply for collages nearby. When Harley had agreed to a calm family Christmas in the Stark cabin, _this_ was not what he had expected. _Peter Parker –_ was not what he had expected.

So here he was, a month later, propped up for two weeks in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with his honorary family and _the most adorable, clumsy, oddly muscular, kind boy he’d ever met._

Harley had a _type._ It was Peter Parker. ~~(And possibly Spider-Man).~~ And that… that was a problem. Because Harley was about 99% sure that those two were in fact dating. Or had been. Or wanted to be.

Either way, Peter was involved with someone else – which meant that Harley should back off. But Harley, being the absolute idiot he’d always been, did not know what that meant. There was no pause button. Especially not when Peter’s puppy eyes lit up the way they did when he beat someone, _anyone,_ at Mario Kart. Or when he basically bounced off the walls in excitement as soon as there was a mention of Christmas movies. Not to mention the way he immediately started rambling after accidentally calling Tony ‘dad’ three times a day. Or how he tried to hide the adorable blush that crept onto his cheeks when Harley called him ‘darlin’.

_Boy, was Harley Keener in trouble._

Not only because this boy was referring to Harley’s father figure as ‘dad’, or because he was taken already. But because the oblivious adorableness that was Peter Parker could tell him to jump off a cliff and he would do it. And because Tony Stark was not oblivious, and Harley could tell he wasn’t going to let him off easy. Nor would Morgan, now that he thought about it. Or… god damnit, Pepper.

“Kid?”

Harley’s blue eyes shot up from the screen of his phone to the older man now sitting down in the couch next to him.

“I asked if you’re okay,” Tony offered, crossing his arms over his chest, concern obvious in his eyes.

“Oh, yeah – I’m good.”

“Don’t give me that. I’m honestly offended that you think I’d fall for it, after all these years. I can tell something’s wrong, kid.”

“Ithinkpeterisdatingspiderman” Harley spat out after a long moment’s silence, something he instantly found himself regretting as Tony choked on his coffee and made a poor attempt to stifle a laugh.

“I’m never telling you anything again,” Harley muttered and pushed himself off the sofa, but was pulled back down by the older man.

“Sorry… I’m sorry,” Tony managed, between laughs, trying to contain his laughter.

“You’re still laughing,” Harley sighed, raising an eyebrow at Tony, unimpressed.

“Okay, okay,” Tony said, taking a deep breath. “Did… Did Peter tell you he was dating Spider-Man?”

“Not exactly, no. But he said he _knew_ Spider-Man and things got really weird yesterday when I asked about him.”

“Right. And this bothers you because…?”

“No reason.”

“No, because…?”

“It doesn’t bother me!”

“Honestly what would you do without me? It bothers you because you have a crush on Peter,” Tony sighed, rolling his eyes at the oblivious teenager.

“What!? No. Very much I do not. What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous. A crush? Hah.”

“Harls. You’re an idiot.”

“Shut up, I’m smarter than you, old man.”

“Right, you’re so smart. So perceptive. Not oblivious at all. Keep up the good work, kid,” Tony grinned, getting back up from the sofa, coffee in hand as he left the living room much to the dismay of the blonde teenager in the couch.

“What? Tony, what are you talking about? Come back! Ugh.”

_Great. Now he was screwed **and** clueless._

\---

In his bedroom at the Stark cabin, Peter Parker was freaking out. Because Peter – enhanced spiderkid with sensory overload and a hearing too good to be any fun – Peter had heard the whole discussion that just played out in the living room.

And it was a lot to take in.

Why the hell would Harley be upset about Peter dating Spider-Man? And would Tony’s hysterical fit of laughter not set Harley off and maybe, I don’t know, _reveal Peter’s secret identity??_ And then there was the huge thing. The part where Tony was an absolute, and complete idiot/asshole and suggested Harley had a crush on Peter. Sure, Harley might have a crush on Spider-Man, and that – to some degree, that was understandable. But there was no way _Harley –_ tall, hot, southern, smart, confident Harley – had a crush on Peter Parker.

_Or was there?_

No. No, there was no way. That was just idiotic wishful thinking on Peter’s behalf, and he needed to remind himself, yet again, that he wasn’t allowed wishful thinking like that. It set him up for disaster and disappointment. There was simply no way Harley Keener had a crush on him. Peter knew that from _experience._ People didn’t have crushes on him. Especially not people like Harley. Besides, Harley had denied it - rather harshly. In fact, he had laughed at the suggestion. That shouldn't be a surprise to Peter, and it wasn't like it was the first time someone had- 

The teenager’s mind started racing inhumanely, and it got destructive pretty fast. Flashes of memories passed his mind, all the disappointments, betrayals and heartbreaks from high school were reappearing and he couldn’t possibly sit there and spiral.

There was only one way out of it. So, Peter grabbed the Spider-Man suit from his bag (despite having promised Mr. Stark to take a break from Spider-Man for the holidays) and quickly changed out of his jeans and t-shirt. After shoving his clothes, some protein bars and his wallet into his backpack, the masked teenager climbed out the window and carefully closed it behind him, before climbing up on the roof.

“Hello Peter. I thought you weren’t going to ‘play hero’ until next year, did something happen?”

“Nah, I just missed you, Karen. And I know you missed me too,” the teenager grinned at his AI, as he shot a web at the nearest tree and started swinging through the forest.

"It's been one day, Peter. I've hardly had time to miss you," the AI responded, and Peter realised he probably shouldn't have introduced Karen to MJ. This sass was a new development, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. 

“Rude. What’s the fastest route back to the city?”


	5. Midtown's finest

**Beter - > Midtown’s finest**

Beter: sos

Return of the ned-i: what’s wrong? Are u ok?

Beter: mr stark has another kid

MJ: we already know about Morgan, Peter

Beter: not morgan

Beter: he’s from Tennessee

Return of the ned-i: oh no, is he terrible?

Beter: worse

MJ: oh no

Beter: he’s bot

Beter: bot*

Beter: BOT

Beter: goddamnit Karen write what I’m saying!

Beter: he’s HOT

MJ: called it

Return of the ned-i: how is this bad?

Beter: I’m on my way

Beter: arE You kIdDInG me!?!

Beter: it’s BAD

MJ: Peter… what do you mean you’re on your way?

Return of the ned-i: arent you upstate?

MJ: Don’t tell me… you’re spidering your way back for a night because you can’t stay away from crime

Beter: gotta live up to the rep

Beter: be gay do crime

Beter: meet me at ned’s in half an hour

MJ: that is so not your rep

MJ: fine. I’ll be there.

\---

Peter was halfway into NYC, which admittedly was much closer than expected, when Karen informed him there was an incoming call from Mr. Stark. As much as he wanted to ignore the call and just keep going, he knew he had been found out. Peter didn’t know what he had expected, probably to at least get _into_ the actual city before someone noticed he was gone. But then again, it wasn’t like there was a whole bunch of people over at the cabin to distract from his absence. Maybe his absence was much more noticeable than expected. Peter was used to being practically invisible, so it was definitely weird to be called within the first hour of sneaking out.

“Fine, take the call,” he muttered into the suit, and instantly, Tony Stark’s voice was filling his eardrums.

“When I invited you for Christmas I kinda thought you were actually gonna stay _until_ Christmas.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I-“

“-how many times do I have to tell you? It’s Tony, kid.”

“Right. Sorry… Tony, I just- I had to go patrolling, I’ll be back tonight I promise.”

“Look, I know you’re eighteen and _‘all grown up now’,_ but is it too much to expect at least a warning before you take off and miss dinner? Do I have to pick you up? I can send Happy-“

“No, Mr. S- Tony. I’m fine, I brought protein bars and- I’m fine. I just need to clear my head.”

“Does this have anything to do with, and this is just a wild guess, the Tennessee potato slinger?”

Peter’s only response was silence. He felt stupid – about everything. He felt stupid about his ridiculous crush on Harley, about letting it get to him after just one day, and about Tony figuring it out so goddamn fast. Most of all, Peter felt stupid for letting himself hope, even for a second, that Harley actually had a crush on him, too. He was supposed to know better by now. Not only was he eighteen and an actual adult, but he had been through this so many times before. He’d been through stupid crushes, the unhealthiest (and shortest) relationships, and fucking bullies. Hell, he’d even dated his bully. Well, not _really,_ Spider-man had, and that had been a shit idea from the start. To quote MJ directly, it had been his worst idea since crushing on her – a self-pronounced lesbian.

“Right,” Tony deducted, and Peter could practically hear him rolling his eyes over the phone. “So, you heard the whole thing and now you’re freaking out. That’s fine. Do what you need to do - but _call me_ if you need anything. Alright, kid?”

“Yes da- Mr-… Tony.”

“Be careful. If you come home with another bullet hole, I swear to god you’re not getting any Christmas presents.”

Before Peter got the chance to make a comment about the fact that Tony shouldn’t have gotten him any Christmas presents, the older man had hung up the phone – leaving Peter alone with his AI, now hitching a ride on the roof of a train as he chowed down his protein bars deep in thought.


	6. Damage control

”Eat it,” MJ threatened for the second time as she pressed the sandwich into Peter’s hands.

“But-“ Peter tried to object, without success.

“Eat it.”

“Fine,” Peter muttered, and took a bite out of the sandwich, despite having just had two protein bars on the roof of a train. “Thanks, MJ,” he chewed, and the girl responded by waving her hand at him – probably for speaking with his mouth full.

“Okay tell me everything,” Ned urged as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. The three teenager had just met up at his house, and were hiding out in the bedroom – since Ned’s mom was home and Peter was wearing his suit.

“I knew I was gonna regret this,” Peter managed, in between chews, before finishing his sandwich and rubbing his palms on over his face in frustration.

“Is he Tony’s actual kid?” MJ asked, raising her eyebrows and leaning back on the sofa.

“No… apparently they met when Harley was like eleven and saved his life. But Morgan calls him her brother and he’s annoyingly nice, and hot and he even _bakes._ ”

“Yeah, I’m still not seeing the problem here,” Ned grinned, dropping down on his bed and grabbing a PlayStation controller.

“ _The problem?_ Singular? Ned, there are _multiple_ problems with this scenario. Tony has another kid my age who’s pretty much perfect, so he’ll probably just forget about me now. Meanwhile I’m stuck simping for yet another person who’ll never like me the entirety of the holidays. Oh, _and_ he has a thing for Spider-Man. And he’s allergic to sleeves.”

“Do I have to remind you that you _are_ Spider-Man? And clearly an _idiot!_ ” MJ sighed, playfully slapping Peter in the back of his head. “Look, Parker. Tony Stark _adores_ you, and I’m pretty sure he would adopt you on the spot if you asked him. You have _nothing_ to worry about. It’s not like he’s gonna care any less about you than he has before, because this guy has clearly been around for a long time.”

“Okay, logically I know that,” Pete muttered, turning his gaze to the floor with a sigh. It wasn’t like Tony had actually acted any different since Harley arrived. He’d noticed Peter’s disappearance right away and fussed over him not eating or getting into trouble, as usual. But that didn’t stop Peter’s stupid mind from wandering places it shouldn’t go. Places where he convinced himself that he didn’t deserve a father figure, and that they would all abandon him one way or another – because that was all he knew.

“And this Harley-guy sounds pretty great. I mean you clearly like him, and he likes Spider-Man, so… that’s a good thing, Pete. You can have a crush and you know- enjoy it,” Ned pitched in, eyes glued to the tv as he was simultaneously giving relationship advice and fighting off zombies. Solid.

“Okay but just because he likes Spider-Man, doesn’t mean he likes _me._ He’s more likely to just get disappointed if he ever finds out, which is why he _can’t_ find out. He might, low-key think that I’m _dating_ Spider-Man so that’s… good, I guess.”

“ **HOW** is that good?” Ned exclaimed, finally dropping the controller and staring his friend down with very convincing eyes.

“Because then he won’t think that I _am_ Spider-Man, Ned!”

“But how are you going to get together if he thinks you’re already taken?!”

“Ned! That’s never going to happen. He’s out of my league, okay?”

“Time-out, boys. Time-out.” MJ’s voice filled the room and the two teenage boys grew quiet instantly. She was always the logical one, and she always managed to take control of the situation when they were spiraling. Honestly, Peter didn’t know how they were friends with her – but he was extremely happy that they were.

“This isn’t even _about_ Harley, is it?” she asked, knowingly, raising an eyebrow at Peter who was crumbling under the pressure.

“What? Of _course_ it is, what are you talking about? Who else-“

“This is about Flash,” she stated simply, causing Ned to gasp audibly and Peter to drop his head into his hands.

“I thought we were done talking about this,” Peter groaned, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. _Fuck._ He was not ready for this conversation. He had left the cabin to _clear_ his mind and to stop himself from spiraling, not to dig old shit back up.

“Well, _clearly_ you’re not done thinking about it, so I don’t think I have much of a choice,” the girl replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, Harley isn’t Flash. You said it yourself, he seems like a good guy – well, I think your exact words were ‘pretty much perfect’. You can’t judge him based on your ex-“

“ _Spider-Man’s_ ex,” Peter corrected, still not looking up to face his friends.

“I’m going to ignore that. You can’t _expect_ him to be like Flash just because he, what- likes Spider-Man?”

“But I’m not!” Peter defended, pushing himself off the sofa and immediately starting to pace around the room. “I’m not expecting him to be an ass, or toxic or _anything._ I’m not judging him. I’m just being _realistic._ I’m Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. There’s no way he likes me because I’m… me.”

“I can’t listen to this anymore. Peter, you idiot. You _are_ Spider-Man. I know you feel like you can’t compete with him or whatever but you don’t have to, you _are_ him. And honestly even if you weren’t -you’re a fucking catch. You’re smart, funny, handsome, _fucking ripped,_ and probably the most selfless guy on the planet!” Ned practically yelled at his friend, who, at the notion, seemed to calm down and sit back down on the couch.

“Yeah, what he said,” MJ agreed.

“Thanks guys. I just- it’s just-“ Peter stopped himself mid-sentence as his spider-senses started tingling, _badly._ Something big was happening and he could tell he didn’t have much time. “ _Fuck,_ I have to go!”

As the half-dressed Spider-Man started looking around the room for his mask, Ned was already halfway to his computer.

“Just don’t be too hard on yourself, oh, and don’t get yourself killed,” MJ sighed, before picking the mask up from the floor and throwing it at her friend.

“I’ll try,” Peter promised, flashing her a grin before pulling on the mask and throwing himself out the window.

\---

It was a bank robbery. One with hostages. Hostages and heavy weapons. Generally, Peter would’ve been able to handle that on his own – but there were a lot of them. He’d already crashed into a wall in order to avoid a bullet, and probably broken a rib or two, when he was fighting what he thought was the last robber and heard a gun go off behind him. Before he had the chance to move out of the way, one of the Iron Man suits had shown up from nowhere and placed itself between Peter and the bullet, which bounced off the suit with a loud, metallic sound.

Brushing off the shock, Peter turned back to the robber, who he finally managed to disarm and web to the wall. Turning around, he noticed that the other robber was pinned down by Iron Man. The teenager quickly assisted in disarming and locking down that last robber, before getting the hell out of the building and climbing up the wall. His confusion could wait. Spider-Man had been through his fair share of run-ins with the police, and most of them had ended badly. Needless to say, he was not up for another one.

He settled on the roof, collapsing as soon as he made it, sitting down and pressing a hand to his ribs. “Damage control, Karen.”

“Two broken ribs, a mild concussion and several minor surface wounds,” the AI responded calmly, because she knew as well as he did that he would be all healed up in a day or two. “Thanks, Karen,” the teenager smiled, and raised his eyebrows as the Iron Man suit landed on the roof in front of him.

“Tony?” he asked in disbelief after a moment’s silence. “I thought you were ‘done avenging for good’?”

“No, um – I’m not Tony Stark,” the suit responded, and Peter was pretty sure there was an actual person in it – although you could never really know.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that suit belongs to Tony Stark…” Spider-Man insinuated at the stranger, while his mind was working over-time trying to place that goddamn voice.

“Yeah, it sure does. I swear I have his permission to use it, though. I would never… you know, steal from Iron Man. I’m not stupid.”

Peter was ready to sink through the goddamn building when he detected the well concealed southern accent in those first few words and realized who had taken the liberty of _borrowing_ Tony’s Iron Man suit. He should’ve seen this coming. Tony decides to step down from being Iron Man, and his _kid_ conveniently shows up out of nowhere to take over.

“You must be Harley,” Spider-Man stated, trying his hardest to hide the bitterness in his voice – which was hard, because Tony had chosen _him._ Tony had given his suit, his name, and his legacy to Harley Keener and nobody had even thought to tell Peter.

“How did- oh. Peter told you about me. Yeah, I’m Harley, but I’d appreciate it if you kept that to yourself.”

“Of course, I get it. Hey, thanks for the save in there. You… you did good,” Peter managed, as he forced a smile to his lips. One – he realized – that wouldn’t be seen anyway, because of the mask he was wearing.

“Really? Thanks, I’m… glad I could help. Are you okay?” Harley asked through the suit, and Peter could feel the anxiety bubbling up in his stomach.

“Never better,” Peter lied, biting down on his teeth as he got up to his feet again – ignoring the pain in his ribs. “Maybe I’ll see you around,” he added, before throwing himself off the edge of the building, shooting a web at a crane and wincing in pain as he bounced up when the web stopped the fall. It was going to be a _long_ way back to the cabin.


	7. Shut up Karen, you're not my mom

”You, _Spider-Man,_ are a terrible influence!” echoed Tony Stark’s voice through the suit which clung to Peter’s skin like magnets. For once, it was suffocating, and the teenager couldn’t wait to get out of it – if only he could make it back to the cabin soon. He’d managed to make it onto the roof of the train again, but after trying to swing with two fractured ribs – Karen had informed him that the fractures had indeed gotten worse and he could fucking tell. Thus, after getting off the train with some strain, he was now walking through the two feet-deep snow in the forest that would hopefully, eventually, lead him back to the Stark cabin. Silently, Peter cursed himself for leaving in the first place. What good had he done after all? Harley could’ve probably managed that hostage situation by himself – he was Iron Man now after all.

“Wha-“ Peter interrupted his own thinking, at the sound of Tony’s voice. “Did Morgan- is she okay?” he asked nervously, silently listing all the bad ideas he might’ve given the six-year-old recently.

“No, not to her, smartass – to Harley. The kid meets you and all of the sudden he thinks every eighteen-year-old can run around trying to be a hero and-“

“Excuse me?! You think that I- He comes to your house, takes _your_ suit and _your_ identity and you blame me? I’m sorry dad, but this one’s on you.”

“I- that’s fair,” the older of the two sighed, “I’m sorry kid.”

“I thought… He said you… that you gave it to him,” Peter managed, hesitatingly, stopping in his tracks as he voiced his insecurities.

“He said that? And you believed him? Why the hell would I let an eighteen-year-old kid with no experience, no training and no _common sense_ take over my suit and my bloody name after being in town for all of two days?” Tony laughed, and Peter suddenly felt immensely stupid. When he put it like that, it didn’t exactly make sense. But Peter had learned a long time ago that what went on inside his head didn’t always make sense.

“I just thought… you know since you call him kid and he’s _annoyingly_ like you and you’ve known him for so long-“ Spider-Man took a deep breath as a sudden lightheadedness struck him – maybe he’d just sit down for a moment. Yeah, that would help.

“Kid?”

"Yeah, I- it’s stupid I know-“

“Are you okay?”

“’s fine, Mr- Tony, I’m… I just- ‘s fine.”

“Karen?” Tony asked, and Peter felt _tired._

“Two fractured ribs and a concussion, Mr. Stark. And some surface wounds,” the AI replied, scanning the teenager as they spoke. “His values are decreasing, I advised against walking through the snow. He needs rest.”  
  


“Shut up Karen you’re not my momh.”

“That’s it, I’m coming to pick you up. Don’t move, moron.”

“No- cant. Harley doesn’ know I’m spdhhff-“

With a deep sigh, Peter gave up on speaking. He’d forgotten what he meant to say anyway, and he was tired. With the world spinning at the rate it was, he’d much rather just lie down – just for a moment – until everything stopped spinning.

\---

Peter awoke in his bedroom at the Stark cabin, to the smell of roast turkey and to the stubborn vibrations of his phone. The room was dark, but the bright light forcing itself in between the blinds told him it was daytime. He couldn’t remember how he got there, but he vaguely remembered stomping through knee-deep snow as the sun was setting.

The teenager forced his eyes open and was thankful to find a glass of water and a painkiller on his nightstand, which he quickly downed, before turning his attention to the phone – which was still buzzing.

1.34 pm, it said. Either he’d had one heck of a black out, or he’d slept for more than 20 hours.

The phone buzzed again, and Peter reluctantly clicked the twitter icon.

**Potato Gun Supremacy - > Beter**

Potato Gun Supremacy: Pete

Potato Gun Supremacy: Beter

Potato Gun Supremacy: ….

Potato Gun Supremacy: are you okay?

Potato Gun Supremacy: you’ve been in there for so long and the old man won’t let me see you

Potato Gun Supremacy: at least tell me you’re alive

Beter: im alive

Potato Gun Supremacy: omg

Potato Gun Supremacy: thank god

Potato Gun Supremacy: what the hell happened?

Potato Gun Supremacy: Tony said you were out for a **walk** and tripped on a log and now you have a concussion?!?!?

Beter: …

Beter: of course he did

Potato Gun Supremacy: did he lie tho?

Beter: no

Beter: theres something you should know about me

Beter: …

Potato Gun Supremacy: ???

Beter: im clumsy af.

Beter: like zero grace

Beter: like don’t ever bring me onto a dance floor

Beter: not that you would…

Beter: but like.. dont

Potato Gun Supremacy: don’t quote me on this

Potato Gun Supremacy: but…

Potato Gun Supremacy: that’s fucking adorable

Beter: hpfpjoafs

Beter: brb im just

Beter: asdgdaks

\---

**Potato Gun Supremacy** @harley_keener · Dec 24

I think I just broke Spider-Man’s boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO much for all the kudos and comments, I'm beyond happy that you are all loving this story as much as I am. It really keeps me motivated and keeps me going. Please, if you like it, let me know! You guys are the best!


	8. Grounded from Twitter

Pepper Potts was not the kind of mother who got furious – she was calm, collected and strategic – and would at her height hand out a well thought out lecture. But if she did get furious, Harley was pretty sure it would look something like this.

The strawberry blonde was rushing through the living room of the cabin, shoving items into her purse with frustrated huffs coming out of her nose every once in a while; her family just watching her with nervous anticipation.

Ever since Harley’s tweet earlier that afternoon _(I think I broke spider-man’s boyfriend) –_ rumours had started spreading online like wildfire. #spidermansboyfriend and #gayspiderman were trending on twitter, and the number of theories were infinite.

* * *

**Spiderman said gay rights** @sweaterweather42 · Dec 24

I bet my right foot that spiderman is gen z, and he seems to be friends with this Harley dude

**GAY AVENGERS HELL YES** @chelseasays · Dec 24

Spiderman and his boyfriend coming out on twitter: uwu

Future historians: they were very close, PLATONIC, friends

**Marry me Ms. Potts** @friendlyneighbourhoodlesbian · Dec 24

Okay but hear me out, what if @harley_keener is spiderman’s boyfriend?? Stark IS following him… seems sus to me

* * *

In all fairness, Harley hadn’t known about the shitstorm one tweet would cause. It wasn’t like he even had that many followers. How was he supposed to know that those few thousand followers would immediately investigate and find that Tony Stark was following him?

“One Christmas… One!” Pepper breathed, face reddened and tense. “I wanted **one** family Christmas in peace, and what do I get? One PR disaster, TWO teenage vigi-“

“Visitors,” Tony coughed sharply, interrupting his wife who looked as though she was about to throw something at him.

“Yes, that. Visitors. Two, chaotic, thoughtless, _care free_ – teenage visitors,” she hissed, raising her eyebrows at the two boys seated in the couch.

“I’m really sorr-“

“Not a word, Harley. You are grounded from Twitter, do you hear me? And don’t even think of putting on that suit because I will ship you off to Tennessee faster than you can say cowboy,” the woman threatened. Tony coughed to stifle a laugh.

“Peter – I’d bring you with me but you need rest. So, stay in bed, don’t go on Twitter and _don’t_ do anything stupid,” Pepper said, glaring at Peter as though he would know exactly what she meant by _something stupid._

“Tony, Morgan. You’re in charge of the teenagers. I’ll try to be back for dinner tomorrow, don’t forget we have guests coming.”

With that, Pepper Potts left the building to handle her newest PR crisis at Stark Industries. It wasn’t the first one she had dealt with, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. She often referred to herself as the only adult within close shooting range of the Avengers, and well – she wasn’t wrong.

* * *

**Biderman** @thespiderman · Dec 24

I guess the news is out… I listen to sweater weather! But I’m single as a kringle (get it??) Happy holidays biderfans

> **Biderman blz** @harley_keener

For now.

>> **Biderman blz** @harley_keener

Biderman is a thing and he’s single as a kringle. What does one need to do to be saved, swung around and kissed by an upside-down spiderboy? Asking for a friend.

>>> **Flash** @theflash

Speaking from experience, getting mugged and making your move while he takes you to the hospital but youre bleeding out and ‘please fulfil my dying wish’ – is a safe bet.

>>>> **Biderman blz** @harley_keener

Who ARE you??

>>>>> **the boss** @pepperpotts

I am gone TEN minutes…

>>>>>> **Biderman blz** @harley_keener

Oop I’m in trouble

>>>>>>> **Biderman** @thespiderman

That makes two of us

>>>>>>> **Biderman blz** @harley_keener

KILL ME NOW HE SAW IT

* * *

Needless to say, Harley was absolutely restless and beside himself that evening. Not that he could tell anyone _why,_ because he was in fact grounded from Twitter and while Pepper already knew he had broken that rule, Tony didn’t need to. So, while the taller of the teenage boys was jumping around like a kid on Christmas day (which was in fact, a day away) – the other was oddly quiet and reserved.

Tony Stark was, as per usual, tired of them. Not tired of them in a legit, bothered, way. But tired of them in a _oh god please make it stop I love those idiots but they are too loud and too teenage and oh my god was I like this when I was a teenager, maybe this is karma –_ kind of way. So, the father figure of said teenagers kept a safe distance from the two, meaning, since Pepper had left the house and his lab was free territory - he was working.

See, Pepper had made the whole family make a bunch of promises for the holidays – most of which had been broken already. First of all, Tony had promised he was done with Iron Man forever – and that promise was one he had kept so far (92 days and counting). Secondly, he had promised that he would be nice to the boys and _spend time with them while they’re here –_ meaning he was not allowed in his lab. That promise was now broken.

_Peter_ had promised not to do any crime fighting for the week, and seeing as the kid was recovering from a concussion and two broken ribs, it was safe to say that promise had also been broken.

Harley Keener had promised Pepper that there would be no pranks. Of course, Pepper didn’t know it, but pranking Tony was one of the first things Harley had done upon arriving at the cabin that Christmas.

Morgan had promised not to tell Harley about Spider-Man’s true identity, which was something the six-year-old had managed with thus far, although her temptation to tell grew with each passing hour.

* * *

“Ugh, he’s acting so _weird!_ One second it’s like he likes me and the next he’s ignoring me! Do you think it’s because I said Spider-Man was cute that one time?” Harley complained as he threw himself down next to the far too perceptive six-year-old on the couch later that evening.

“One time?” Morgan asked with a slight grin, not taking her eyes off the tv.

“Fine. It was more than once. But do you think that’s why?” Harley sighed, dropping his head down on his honorary little sister’s lap and staring hopelessly into the ceiling.

“Yes,” the girl answered seriously, turning her brown eyes down to meet Harley’s before retrieving to braid his hair.

“I knew it!” Harley threw his hands up and let them drop dramatically to his sides as he turned his head to the side to see ELF playing on the TV for the one hundredth time in two days. “What should I do?”

“You could tell Peter that you like him,” Morgan answered simply, securing the braid with a bobby pin pulled from her own hair.

“You are too smart for your age, did you know that?”

“Eh, I’m the only child of two geniuses.”

“Hey, take that back!”

“The only _biological_ child of two geniuses.”

Harley Keener let out a snort in response and turned his attention back to the TV. However much he hated to admit it, Morgan was probably right. He _did_ like Peter, and simping for Spider-Man didn’t seem to be helping his case much.


	9. Confessions

**Beter - > Biderman blz**

Beter: so um…

Beter: I noticed you started following flash..

Beter: and idk I just wanted to warn you I guess

Biderman blz: you know him?

Biderman blz: wait, warn me?

Biderman blz: what did he do?

Beter: he’s just

Beter: not really a great guy

Biderman blz: oh

Biderman blz: thanks for telling me

Beter: np

Biderman blz: Peter?

Beter: yeah?

Biderman blz: can I come in?

\---

There was a soft tap on Peter’s bedroom door, that drew his attention away from the conversation he was struggling with on the phone. He knew that logically, somewhere deep down, it was a conversation he wanted to have with Harley – seeing as he was actually the one who had started it. But it wasn’t easy, and it still scared the crap out of him.

Horrifying questions were floating around in his head, scaring him more than anything had this past year. _What if Harley didn’t believe him? What if he listened to Flash? What if he **liked** Flash?_

These were issues that Peter hadn’t had to worry about since graduating high school, ridding himself of his childhood bullies and all the people who knew him only as Penis Parker, the trans kid, or the nerd who pretended to have an internship at SI. No, he’d moved on from that, and only kept the people worth keeping in his life. They weren’t many, but when they looked at him, they saw the Peter he was now. Hell, they even saw someone better than he did himself.

So it threw him off, to say the least, when some of the biggest insecurities from his childhood were popping up again, and he worried he was going to lose this boy he’d only known for a few days to his terrible ex / bully. He worried that after following each other on twitter for just a few hours, they were already talking about Peter, laughing about him behind his back. He worried that Harley would see him as the kid he was in high school.

Hesitatingly, but quickly, the teenager typed ‘sure’ in the messenger box and hit send, before there was any time to change his mind. It would be weird otherwise, he decided, since Harley was already on the other side of his door.

The door was slowly pushed opened, and Harley poked his head in with a slight smile on his lips. “Hey,” he breathed, before entering the room and closing the door behind him.

“Hi,” Peter replied quietly, from where he was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard.

“Are you okay?” the taller boy asked, looking to his friend for a nod of approval before sitting down at the foot of the bed.

“I’m fine,” Peter mumbled in response, putting his phone down on the bedside table and avoiding the other boy’s gaze.

“I um… had a feeling there was more to the story, about this Flash- but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just wanted to let you know that you could, if you wanted to.” Harley was rambling, and it had to be one of the cutest things Peter had ever seen. He was so kind and considerate, that Peter’s previous concerns seemed ridiculous by now. Harley wasn’t going to listen to Flash, he _cared –_ for whatever weird reason.

“He was just… a bully, back in high school. He was really homophobic and tr- never mind, It’s stupid-“

“Hey, it’s not stupid. I’m from Tennessee, remember? I had to deal with my fair share of homophobic bullies. I’m… I’m sorry you had to go through that, too. I can kick his ass for you if you like?”

That last remark had a small chuckle coming from Peter’s small form, as he shook his head. “Thanks, Harls, but please don’t do that.”

“Alright. Lemme know if you change your mind,” the blonde grinned, before biting down on his lower lip with a hesitant look on his face. Peter crumbled on the inside. He had said too much. He’d said Flash was homophobic when it was clear from his twitter that he was out now, and he’d almost said that flash was transphobic when he hadn’t come out to Harley yet. And that was the real issue. He hadn’t really come out to anyone yet, well, not about being trans anyway. And he liked Harley, and the Starks for that matter, too much to want to find out how they would react to that particular piece of information.

A lot of the time, Peter felt like a fraud. Like nobody really knew him. To be fair, that part was true. Most people didn’t really know him. If he wasn’t hiding the fact that he was trans, he was hiding the fact that he was Spider-Man. The truth was, there were only three people in this world who really knew him, and who seemed to like him anyway; May, Ned and MJ.

“Hey Pete?” Harley finally asked, breaking the nerve-wrecking silence that had Peter doubting his every life decision up until now. The brunette looked up at the notion, meeting the bright blue eyes of the other boy – his heart instantly racing in his chest.

“Yeah?” Peter swallowed hesitatingly, unable to tear his eyes away from Harley, who seemed as intent on keeping his gaze.

“I really like you-“ Harley breathed out, and as soon as Peter understood where he was going with that sentence he was thrown into a pure state of panic.

“I’m trans!” Peter blurted out, almost simultaneously as Harley’s statement, with no real reasoning behind the panic induced statement. Socially speaking, Peter wasn’t a very logical person, but he did have _some_ logic behind it. Because if Harley was about to tell Peter that he liked him, which it turns out he had been, then that was something Peter could not deal with. Because Peter liked Harley too, a lot. And he didn’t want to lie to him. The truth was, Peter was pretty sure telling the other boy about his being trans would throw him off immediately and ruin any chances Peter had with him. And while that was terrible, shitty and heartbreaking, at least then Peter wasn’t leading him on.

“Oh,” Harley breathed in response, eyes still glued on Peter – sending him even further into his panic mode.

“Fuck! Oh my god, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have- Please don’t tell Mr. Stark!”

“Pete, breathe. I won’t tell anyone, I swear,” the blonde promised, within seconds making his way over to Peter, sitting across from him and placing his hands on his shoulders.

“Just breathe, okay?” Harley repeated, his hands steady on Peter’s shoulders. And Peter tried, slowly taking one breath in and another out, until he had somewhat managed to push the panic away and slow down his heartrate again; his senses filled to the brim with Harley. Harley’s steady hands constantly in contact with his shoulders through the fabric of his hoodie, Harley’s stupid perfume that had his mind in a fog, Harley’s soft voice that kept reassuring him – convincing Peter that there was nothing more beautiful than a southern accent on a voice like his.

“I’ve got you. I’m- look, I think you’re amazing, Peter. And you don’t have to say anything, or-“ Harley managed, but broke off his sentence with a soft sigh before continuing. “I just thought, you know, that I should tell you, because maybe I’ve been sending mixed signals with this whole Spider-Man thing and Morgan said I should just tell you, so- I like you. I’ve liked you since you set the curtain on fire and thought I was a burglar, which was adorable by the way, and I should probably stop talking now-“

Peter just stared. He stared into blue eyes that were far too honest and vulnerable for this to be prank of any kind. _Harley Keener liked him._ And while Peter couldn’t really wrap his mind around the _why_ of it, he wasn’t sure he even cared. Because Peter had a huge crush on the boy sitting across from him on the bed, spilling his heart out, and up until this moment it had seemed impossible that Harley liked him back. For _him,_ that was. Not for Spider-Man. Peter wasn’t sure anyone had ever liked him for him before, at least in that way. Flash sure hadn’t.

“I, um- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dropped all that on you, I’m gonna.. I should go, give you some space,” the blonde managed, stiffly removing his hands from Peter’s shoulders leaving a cold and empty space where they had been. Within seconds, Harley was on his feet, ready to leave, and Peter had to pull himself back to reality.

“Stay?” he mumbled hastily, brown eyes glued to the taller boy’s back as he stopped in his tracks, shoulders visibly relaxing as he turned back around, allowing Peter to meet those deep blue eyes again. He thought me might _drown_ in those eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took longer than the other chapters, life's back to normal after the holidays and it was a hard chapter to write. I hope you like how it ended up, and please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought in the comments! As always, thanks for reading and leaving kudos and comments, it means the world to me!


	10. #ironfam

Peter woke up on Christmas morning, convinced that he’d had some insane fever dream. Or well, concussion dream was probably more like it. Because there was no way that Harley Keener had told Peter that he liked him last night after a weird discussion about Flash Thompson. There was no way that Peter had blurted out that he was trans in response to said confession, and there was absolutely no way that those series of events had led to an intense make out session on Peter’s bed.

Except, it was Christmas morning, Peter had yet to open his eyes, and his super-hearing had caught onto a steady heartbeat and heavy breaths beside him. _Holy shit._ Harley Keener was in his bed. The teenager forced his eyes open to catch a glimpse of the blonde, who was fast asleep by his side, a peaceful expression on his face and his arm casually resting over Peter’s waist. It was ridiculous, he looked like a fucking god. Peter should know, he knew two.

Just as Peter resisted the urge to close his eyes again and snuggle closer to the taller boy, his hearing caught onto another sound – an increasing one. Small feet, running through the house, coming closer and closer… _fuck._ Peter just managed to get Harley’s arm off him before the bedroom door flung open and an overly-excited six-year-old stormed into the room and started jumping up and down on the bed.

“It’s CHRISTMAS! Merry Christmas! WAKE UP!”

“Make it stop,” Harley groaned, taking his pillow and putting it over his face.

“Ooh, did you finally tell Harley that yo-“

“Morgan Stark,” Peter warned, sitting up against the headboard and staring intensely at the girl.

“What? I was just gonna say that you love him!”

Peter groaned, dragging his palms over his face. Wow, _that could not have gone any worse._ A six-year-old had just revealed his undying love in front of the object of said affection.

“Aww, he said that?” Harley asked. _Of course he had chosen to wake up and remove the pillow from his gorgeous face just now._

“No, I didn’t-“ Peter defended, staring Morgan down once again.

“You wound me, Parker,” Harley yawned, sitting up and stretching his arms out above his head as if he wasn’t at all aware of what it was doing to Peter. “And you,” the blonde added, turning his gaze to the six-year-old standing at the foot of the bed. “What have we said about lying, huh?” he teased, launching across the bed to tickle the girl, who immediately surrendered in a storm of I’m sorrys.

“Good morn- oh my god,” Tony Stark managed, covering his eyes with a tired groan the moment he showed up in Peter’s doorframe. “Do I even want to know?” he sighed, as he removed his hand from its place over his eyes and dragged it through his hair.

“No,” Peter replied, panic sipping through his voice as he pulled the duvet higher up over his chest, despite wearing a t-shirt.

“I want to open presents!” Morgan exclaimed, as she kicked herself free from Harley’s tickle-attack. “Daddy, can we open presents?” she begged Tony, working those puppy eyes like she had never done anything else.

“Sure, Maguna. But just one each, your mom isn’t back yet and she’d have her slow revenge if we left her out of too much,” Tony replied, a soft smile on his lips that seemed reserved for his daughter. “Boys,” he added, raising his eyebrows at the other two. There it was, _the opposite of his Morgan-smile._ God, despite knowing better, Peter still had a hard time seeing why Tony would want him around when clearly he was just an annoying little shit.

“Ay, ay captain,” Harley replied, rolling out of bed and throwing on a t-shirt before following Tony out into the hallway. “You coming, darlin?” He winked at the younger boy before getting dragged away by Morgan.

“I’m really not gonna like this new development, am I?” Peter heard Tony mutter.

“Nope,” he heard Harley respond, and Peter couldn’t help but to smile as he shook his head in disbelief and picked up his phone before getting up to join the others in the living room.

**Beter** @theintern · Dec 25

did you ever wake up on christmas morning with a weird concussion dream that turned out not to be a dream? strongly recommend.

**> Wow I’m gay** @harley_keener

Stop tweeting and come open presents. Also yes 100% recommend.

**> >Iron dad** @tonystark

I’m obliged by law to disclose that giving yourself a concussion won’t get you a boyfriend

**> >>Beter** @theintern

I’m legally obliged to disagree

\--

A few hours later, May Parker stormed through the door of the Stark Cabin, Happy Hogan in tow.

“Peter, thank god! Are you alright?” the woman exclaimed, as she wrapped both arms tightly around her nephew as though she had no plans on letting go anytime soon, and frankly, Peter didn’t mind.

“Of course, aunt May, why wouldn’t I be?” he chuckled nervously in response.

“Oh, I’m not falling for that. I saw the whole thing on TV, those poor hostages! And then those tweets – you were practically outed. And Tony told me about the concussion! You should’ve come to me, what were you thinking going all the way back here _injured._ You do know I’m a nurse, right?”

To be perfectly honest, even if Peter had known what to say, he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to stop May before she’d managed to blurt it all out. His eyes went wide as he let go of her, and cautiously turned around in the hallway to see Harley standing perfectly still behind him, all color drained from his face.

“ _You’re_ Spiderman?!”

“Well-“

“Then why the _fuck_ did you tell me you were dating him?!”

“I _said_ we’re just friends-“

“That LITERALLY means dating, Peter!”

“Well, I’m sorry I don’t speak _Tennessee, Harley.”_

“Oh, so _you’re_ the boyfriend,” May cut in with a nervous smile, clearly having had no intention of revealing Peter’s secret identity.

“What?!” Peter exclaimed, staring at his aunt with wide eyes.

“What? I have Twitter,” she grinned knowingly in response, before taking Happy’s hand and leading him towards the kitchen. “We’re gonna give you two some space.”

Peter cringed internally at the awkward silence left behind as aunt May dragged her boyfriend into the kitchen, leaving Peter alone with Harley – who Peter wasn’t really sure what his relationship with was. Things had been kind of awkward all day. Harley had been flirting tirelessly since morning, but in all fairness he had done that since day one and it didn’t exactly mean that anything had changed. And while Tony had tweeted the word _boyfriend,_ nobody had said it out loud until May did just now. And Peter felt ridiculous for even hoping for that, after a very random concussion hook up on Christmas eve. This whole Spider-Man situation only complicated things even more. There was no way Harley would still like him after finding out about all of Peter’s lies and deceptions. He couldn’t possibly-

“Oh my god,” Harley breathed out after a long moment’s silence. “I’m dating Spider-Man?!”

“Um… if you want to?” Peter swallowed, turning around slowly to face the blonde.

“If I want to? Are you kiddin-“ Harley’s chin dropped and he went silent, and Peter expected the worst. Had he finally realized what a terrible liar Peter was and instantly changed his mind?

“Wait, you dated your bully?” Harley asked, cautiously, brows furrowed as his bright blue eyes drilled their way straight into Peter’s soul. _Fuck._

“He did **what**?” Tony’s voice rung through the hallway, and Peter wanted nothing more than to sink through the floor.

_This is what happens-_ he told himself. _This is what happens when you lie and keep secrets from the people who care about you. This is what you get for deceiving them, for tricking them into liking you._

“Underoos?” Tony questioned carefully, closing in on the teenager with slow motions.

“I’m sorry,” Peter managed, swallowing down on the lump in his throat and crossing his arms over his chest, digging his nails into his arm to keep himself from shaking. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I don’t, I shouldn’t- I’m so sorry-“

“Hey, it’s okay, Pete. You haven’t done anything wrong,” Tony reassured, his voice steady yet soft, as he placed both hands on Peter’s shoulders and slowly led him towards the living room. “We’re going to go sit down for a bit, alright?”

“I’m sure they could use your help in the kitchen, Keener. Bring Morgan with you,” Tony told the other teenager, before he had the chance to follow them.

As Peter was sat down on the couch, the sounds from the kitchen, the radio and the raging storm outside intensified, but thankfully the blinding light from the ceiling lamp was quickly turned off, along with the music. Peter could hear another heartbeat, Tony’s heartbeat, join his, as his mentor saw down on the coffee table to face him.

“Alright kid, you know the drill. Focus on my voice, shut everything else out. Nobody’s mad at you. We just worry because we care about you. Nothing’s gonna change that, Pete. I don’t care who you date - or _dated_. All that matters to me is that you’re okay.”

Peter breathed slowly, in and out, focusing all his energy on Tony’s voice, reassuring and soothing, as all other sounds slowly faded into a dim background noise. _He wasn’t okay._

He wasn’t okay, but he was getting there. Slowly; with people like Tony, with all the people in the cabin that night around him, people who cared enough about him to convince him of it even when he didn’t believe it himself.

“I know I don’t say it a lot, but I love you as my own, Pete. That’s not gonna chan-“ Tony didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the teenager had thrown his arms around him and clung onto him for dear life.

\--

**Beter** @theintern · Dec 25

you didn’t hear it from me but @tonystark is a big ol’ softie #irondad

**> Wow I’m gay** @harley_keener

Pete, darlin. I don’t know how to tell you this but… this isn’t news

> **> Iron dad** @tonystark

I call bullshit

**> >>MJ **@michellejones

Finally #ironfam

**> >>>Return of the ned-i **@guyinthechair

rt

**> >>>>Maybe **@friendlyneighbourhoodaunt

rt

**> >>>>>the boss** @pepperpotts

rt


	11. Have teenagers, they said

Despite how everything had started, Christmas hadn’t turned out too bad. Once Peter’s panic attack had died down, Pepper had come back from work, and their strange, non-traditional family had sat down for a surprisingly great dinner. With everyone knowing at least one of his secrets (him being Spider-Man), Peter didn’t have to worry as much about letting it slip.

It was weird to think that it had been less than a week since he came to the cabin, because he felt like he had known Harley _forever,_ and he had missed aunt May like crazy. He had expected having her there to be weird, but for some reason it worked out like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sure, she was dating Happy now – who had known Tony forever, but it wasn’t just that. She just seemed to fit in. May and Pepper had become fast friends, and honestly, they were a force to be reckoned with. Let’s just say that if Tony found it hard getting a say in anything when Pepper was around, May didn’t make it any easier on him. And she was great with Morgan. Not that Peter had expected anything else, seeing as she had raised him, but still he was surprised at how well she blended in. It was comforting.

Somehow, Peter had thought that having two families would cause nothing but problems for him. That eventually, he would have to choose between them, and that it would break him. But now, it was starting to seem like those two families might actually just be merging into one. So, this Christmas, the best present he found himself getting, was the realization that maybe, _just maybe,_ he wouldn’t ever have to choose. Maybe he wouldn’t have to lose any more parental figures. At least not anytime soon. That was the only present that mattered. That, and the fact that he might be dating Iron Lad.

Yes, Harley Keener had spent most of the evening discussing, no surprise there, superheroes. Mainly his two favorite ones who happened to be sitting at the same table; Iron Man and Spider-Man. He’d also taken the opportunity to highlight the fact that Tony had vowed to never be Iron Man again, and what a great team he had made with Peter that one, _unfortunate_ time that he had happened to _borrow_ the Iron Man suit.

_So maybe Peter had offered to train with him when Tony pointed out that Harley had absolutely no experience or training._

And that was how Harley Keener had determinedly become Iron Lad. Well, Tony and Pepper had been very strict on the fact that he would have to be cleared by both of them before ever going outside Stark Industries wearing the suit again, _and_ on the fact that both he and Peter had to sign the accords if they were going to continue their crime fighting adventures. At that point, May objected and made it very clear that they should be allowed to keep their identities secret for as long as they wanted (and Peter had never been more thankful for his aunt).

Morgan had spent all evening in absolute exhilaration over her insane amount of Christmas presents. That’s not to say that Peter and Harley hadn’t gotten some _crazy shit,_ too. Well, except for the obvious, non-tangible gifts of family and Iron Lad. Tony had given them both new Stark-phones and smart watches (probably so he could keep an eye on them but honestly that didn’t make them any less excited), not to mention that he had promised to pay their college tuitions and have them live in the tower if they studied in New York. It was all too much, but then again, it was Tony Stark – and there was nothing about him that wasn’t _over the top._

\--

Peter was brought out of his thoughts by a soft knock on his bedroom door. He had been camped in there for almost an hour, since May and Happy had left and Morgan went to bed. It was Harley, that much was obvious to Peter. Tony never knocked, and as strange as it was to admit, Peter could already recognize the sound of Harley’s heartbeat. It was beating a little faster than usual, just now, and Peter figured he might be nervous. Which was fair, given Pete’s extreme reaction previously that day.

“Come in,” he finally called out, pulling his knees up under his chin and looking expectantly at the door.

“Hey,” Harley breathed, as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

“I’m sorry,” they both said in unison, then looking at each other in surprise.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Harley pointed out, once again moving to sit at the end of Peter’s bed.

“Well, you don’t either. I overreacted… It- it happens sometimes. My senses are dialed up to eleven and when I get anxious on top of that it just-“ Peter tried to explain, but paused to calm himself down with a deep breath. “It just gets too much sometimes, I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Is it… a spider thing?” Harley asked carefully.

“Yeah, I can hear… everything, and- yeah, it’s a spider thing.”

“That’s… thanks for tellin’ me. Look, I shouldn’t have asked about your ex, especially not in front of To-“

“Spider-Man’s ex,” Peter corrected hastily, looking down at his knees.

“Right,” Harley agreed, hesitatingly. “You don’t have to tell me anythin’, but… if you ever want to, I’m not gonna judge you. I just… I just wanna know you.”

“Do you have any exes?” Peter asked carefully, after a moment’s silence.

“Not really, there’s not a lot of queer people in Rose Hill. At least not that are out. I just, um… some random hook ups at this bar, it doesn’t matter. I had bullies though, plenty of those in Rose Hill.”

“Oh.”

“This one kid E.J always had it out for me, beatin’ me up and calling me names. Kinda surprised him when I outgrew him and started fightin’ back.”

“That sucks,” Pete whispered in response, considering what Harley had just told him. All of the sudden he felt an urge to tell him everything. It was weird, like Harley just had that effect on him. They had known each other less than a week, and the other boy already knew both of his biggest secrets. Sure, the Spider-Man reveal hadn’t been intentional, but seeing that Harley had already helped him solve a hostage situation as Iron Lad – it wasn’t a secret Peter would’ve been able to keep for very long anyway.

“Flash was never… violent. He just threatened and… made fun of me. He’s not, you know- he’s not actually a _bad_ person he just, he’s just dealing with stuff,” Peter explained, out of nowhere. Harley looked at him with disbelief in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips, shaking his head slightly before managing with a response: “How are you this _kind?”_

“I’m not,” Peter retorted shaking his head and turning his gaze back down to his knees. “Anyway, his parents weren’t… supportive, so I think he just took it out on me – because I was the most obviously queer person at school.”

“Pete, that’s not… you know that’s not okay, right? That sounds like a bad person to me,” Harley mumbled softly, and Peter could feel a steady hand settling over his own.

“I know,” Peter managed, with a sharp inhale. “But he wasn’t trying to- it doesn’t matter. I um… saved him one time, as Spider-Man, after he got robbed and stabbed. Well, you saw what he wrote on Twitter. After that he kept getting himself into trouble, to find me, and I guess… I came to see him so he wouldn’t get himself into trouble, and he told me stuff, personal stuff- I um… it all made sense, when I got to know him, and I really liked him,” Peter explained, just then noticing the tears staining his cheeks. With a deep breath, he turned his face away from the other boy in a failed attempt to hide it, because Harley’s hand quickly found its way to his cheek to wipe the tears away.

“Sorry,” Peter mumbled, before continuing his story. “I was still in high school back then, and he didn’t know who I was, so… he kept-“

“He kept being a dick,” Harley breathed, nodding slowly in understanding, as Peter’s face crumbled. “Fuck, Pete, that’s- I’m so sorry,” the blonde managed, before wrapping his arms tightly around the shorter boy.

They sat like that for a while, wrapped tightly together, faces buried in the other’s neck. Peter felt safe, and after a while – oddly calm considering the story he had just shared. It was one he didn’t share with many people. Back then, MJ had figured it out on her own, putting two and two together. Apparently, she’d noticed Peter acting different around Flash, more hurt, and she’d figured then that Flash hadn’t been lying when he bragged about knowing Spider-Man. After MJ found out, it had only been a matter of time before Ned got involved, and if it weren’t for them, he probably would’ve never had the guts to end it. He’d never told another soul. Not until now. Not until Harley.

“Did you ever tell him? You know, who you are?” Harley inquired after a long time’s silence, his breath warm against Peter’s neck.

“Never,” Peter whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around Harley’s back. “I don’t think I can.”

“He doesn’t deserve it.” Harley pulled away just enough so he could look Peter in the eye, pulling the brown curls out of his face. “He didn’t deserve you.”

“You do,” Peter breathed shakily, brown eyes glued to Harley’s blue ones.

“I really don’t,” Harley laughed softly, biting down on his lip as he shook his head once again.

“Shut up, Keener, I’m trying to ask you to be my boyfriend.”

“Only if you will be mine. And I don’t mean Spider-Man or some b-version like that, I mean _the_ Peter Parker.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then hell yes, I’ll be your boyfriend.”

\--

**Wow I’m gay** @harley_keener · Dec 25

Look I know I was simping for Spider-Man but @theintern is so much hotter

**> MJ** @michellejones

rt

**> >Biderman **@thespiderman

ouch

**> >>Beter **@theintern

fjfjkssadk

**> >>>Beter** @theintern

forgive my idiot boyfriend, Spidey. he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

**> >>>>Iron Dad **@tonystark

Have teenagers, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

**> >>>>>Wow I’m gay** @harley_keener

Nobody said that, old man. Not a soul.


	12. #SpidermanIsOverParty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT notes. I'm sorry but this took a turn real fast and now this fic is angsty too. Don't worry, I'm not gonna stray entirely from all the fluff and crack, but I felt like this was the only way to take this story - so here we are.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS (and spoiler alert): This chapter starts off with some social media content in which there's a transphobic slur, and an involuntary public outing. There will also be non-graphic mentions of past sexual assault, and anxiety surrounding that topic. So please, thread carefully. Like I said, it's not graphic what so ever but it's present in this chapter.

_The Daily Bugle_

2025-12-31

SPECIAL EDITION

**Spider-Man EXPOSED**

**What is Spider-Man hiding underneath the mask? Is he a trans man? Is he a predator who preys on young teenagers?**

The Daily Bugle had an intimate sit down with a young former lover of the vigilante, who after almost two years gathered the courage to finally tell his story. Today, we share that story with you. The people of New York deserve to know who their masked “hero” really is, and perhaps today – we can tear down some of the false sense of safety this vigilante has installed.

\--

It was _everywhere._

Peter’s phone had been buzzing non-stop with notifications, twitter-mentions and messages. In fact, the buzzing was what had woken him up that New Year’s morning, in his room at the Stark cabin. Harley had rolled over next to him, groaned, and mumbled something nearly incoherent about turning the phone off.

_He wishes he had._

Rather than turning his phone off, genius Peter Parker had picked his phone up, adjusted his eyes to the lighting, and started skimming through his notifications. His nightmarish notifications. The more he read; the more his vision blurred, his heartrate picked up, and his breathing became heavier. He had to be dreaming. This couldn’t be real. It wasn’t _real._

\--

**Trending in the US:**

#SpidermanIsOverParty

#transspiderman

#happynewyear

#spiderman

#NYE2026

#cancelspiderman

**The Daily Bugle** @thedailybugle

In today’s The Daily Bugle, Spider-Man is exposed for the predator he is. This NYE we’re throwing a #SpidermanIsOverParty

**Kyle** @calloutkyle

I can’t believe today’s news. @thespiderman is a tranny who’s been taking advantage of New York’s young?? #SpidermanIsOverParty

**Spidey stan only** @spideyfan2001

Don’t fall for this propaganda, give Spidey a chance to explain himself. We all knew he was young, I don’t think he’s a predator for one second. Also, great job outing yet another queer person @thedailybugle - you disgust me! #translivesmatter 

**Katie-kat** @katherine_s10

The Daily Bugle exposes Spider-Man as a pedophile and a trans person, meanwhile there’s nothing but radio silence from Stark Industries, the Avengers and Spider-Man himself. Clearly, it’s true and they’re trying to figure out how to trick us into thinking otherwise. #SpiderManIsOverParty #cancelspiderman

**Dana** @NYmomlife

I for one am absolutely appalled by this morning’s news. I will be keeping my kids inside this New Year’s Eve and until they arrest that predator - I hope you do the same. #SpidermanIsOverParty #arrestspiderman #kidslivesmatter

**\--**

_Tranny. Predator. Pedophile._

As the words echoed in Peter’s mind, his phone dropped to the floor. That was how the world saw him now. They thought he was like… like _Skip._

_Was he like Skip?_

No. Flash was in his class at school, they were the same age and-

_But Flash didn’t know that. Flash hadn’t even known who was under that mask. He had taken advantage of that. He had-_

Silent tears rolled down his cheeks as memories flashed across his mind. Memories he thought he had put away for good, deep in the back of his head where nobody could reach them. And yet, there they were, floating back up to the surface.

Images of a blonde, older boy with a persuasive tone and a handsome face; a face that made Peter sick to his stomach.

_“Don’t worry Einstein, it'll be our little secret.”_

Peter took a deep breath and made his best effort to push Skip out of his mind. He couldn’t do that to himself again. He’d spent years reliving that trauma every night, waking up sweaty after nightmare upon nightmare – he was an adult now. He was past it. He _had_ to be.

A sudden knock on his bedroom door brought him back to reality. Not that it was a reality he was particularly eager to face, but it was where he was. In his bedroom, in the Stark cabin, on New Year’s Eve.

“Pete?” Tony asked from the other side of the door, and Peter panicked with the realization that he _knew._ That Tony, like _everyone else in the world,_ had read that article; had read those tweets. “Kid?”

“Leave me alone,” Peter managed though his thick throat, swallowing down hard but failing to rid himself of the lump.

“Pete?” mumbled a tired voice from behind him, almost causing him to jump. As a heavy hand landed on his arm, he _did_ jump.

“Don’t touch me!”

It was instinctual. He had pulled his arm away from the unwelcome hand with surprising speed, and pushed himself off the bed – staring into Harley Keener’s heartbroken eyes from across the room.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked with alarm in his voice as he pushed the door open, revealing a sulking, _hurt_ blonde on the bed, and an anxious mess of a brunette standing in the other end of the room, practically hugging himself.

“Alright, Keener. Let’s get you… Go help Pep in the kitchen,” Tony reasoned, hands up in a cautious pose – as if he was trying not to scare a wild animal away. Peter was pretty sure he was the wild animal in this situation. That’s what everyone thought of him now, anyway. _Why wouldn’t Tony?_

“What’s going on?” Harley asked, looking between the two with furrowed eyebrows.

“We’ll talk about it. Later. Now, I think Pete needs some alone time.”

“It’s not alone time if you’re staying,” Harley muttered as he got up from the bed and pulled a hoodie over his head, blue eyes glued to Peter, who could practically feel those eyes burning on his skin. But he couldn’t bring himself to meet them. Not after how he had just snapped at Harley, ruining everything. He always ruined everything. Now he had ruined Spider-Man, too.

_Fuck. He could never be Spider-Man again._

Tears started burning in the corners of his eyes and there was no mask to hide behind, all he could do was keep his gaze _away_ from Tony and Harley, and hopefully they would leave him alone.

“Fine,” Harley finally muttered, pushing past Tony and leaving the room. As Peter looked up, he could just barely catch a glimpse of the blonde shaking his head in disbelief as he entered the hallway. _He had ruined it._

“I’m sorry, kid,” Tony mumbled as he closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wish I could protect you from this kind of stuff. Just- Pepper already has the PR team all over this and we’re gonna bury it, I’ll find out who did it and we’re gonna-“

“It’s true,” Peter blurted, biting down on his bottom lip as he glanced out the window, rather than to face his father figure. His _third_ father figure. Yet another one he would lose. Because why the _hell_ would Tony stick around for this? For _him._

“Wha- Peter. It’s not true,” Tony reassured, taking a cautious step into the room, raising his arms into that goddamn ‘calming a wild animal’ position again.

“All of it,” Peter crumbled, carefully glancing up at Mr. Stark, tears now welling out of his eyes. “It’s all true.”

“Kid, you’re not a _predator._ Even if you did sleep with this guy, you were just a kid yourself.”

“He didn’t know that.”

“That’s… beside the point. What they wrote in that article were awful, unbelievable lies, and I will sue their asses-“

“I am trans, though-“ Peter breathed, yet again turning his face away from his father figure, hiding the way his face crumbled at the truth he had been hiding for so long.

“Pete, they had no right to out you like that. You- you did nothing wrong.”

“Y-you don’t… hate me?”

“Hate you? Pete, I could never hate you. I love you. You know that. Nothing’s gonna-“ 

Before Tony Stark could say another word, a teary-eyed teenager had thrown his arms around him, holding on like the world depended on it, and sobbed into the embrace.

“Thank you,” he cried, his tears staining Tony’s dress shirt. “I love you too, dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I'm sorry if that was heavy but I hope you liked it anyway. I'm blown away by the response this fic has been getting and your kudos and comments completely light me up. As always, let me know what you thought and THANK YOU for reading!


End file.
